JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released a survey today to receive statewide public comment on the redesign of the Mississippi Report Card. Each year, MDE generates school-level and district-level report cards to show academic performance.

The MDE is committed to sharing information with parents in a timely and easy-to-use manner. The agency is seeking input from parents and stakeholder groups through the survey and face-to-face focus group meetings to determine exactly what data are most important and how best to present information in a way that is helpful to families and their communities. The online feedback includes input on the content and design of the report.

“We look forward to hearing from a diverse group of parents and citizens through this survey. The new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires that states publicly share how every school and district in the state performs. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to tell us how they want to receive that information,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education.

MDE encourages the public to complete this survey and share what information best helps them understand how their schools and districts are performing. The survey deadline is December 15, 2017.

In late 2015, Congress passed a new education law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA. This law replaced No Child Left Behind and gave states more control and power over their school systems. The goal of ESSA is to make sure that every student has the opportunity to receive a high-quality education. It calls for the same work that schools are already doing, such as holding all students to high standards of learning and using quality tests to better understand where students need to improve.

ESSA also requires that states publicly share how every school and district in the state performs on an annual report card as a way of providing parents and communities with information on how well their districts and schools are preparing their students for future success and to highlight where improvements are needed.